Western Kansas world., 1887-12-10

it. The door was gone an the winders
was. smashed in an the floor was
covered with glass an mixture OF
most everything The Cleary Grove
boys rode home at dark, yellin' and
shootin' of their guns an runniu' their
horses.
att Mapped that the next mornin' my
father sent me to the Salem mill with a
sack of corn to be ground. The mill
couldn't grind but few bushels day,
an the first come was first served thar.
So 1 started early, long before light.
just about daylight come to the town
an as neared the grocery, man come
by me with his horse on the run an the
foam a-fyin' off him, an he was swesrln'
like mad It was Radford. Late in
the night somebody had stopped at
Spears house and told Radford what
the boys had been doin' to his grocery.
He jumped on his horse and started for
town.
II got to the grocery about as soon as
he did an my how that man did swar
an rare round, an I heard him say
I'll sell this to the first man who
makes an offer for it.
II saw my chance here to make some
money. rode up to the winder an
looked in. I saw the floor all covered
with glass an stuff, but there was the
coffee an the sugar an all that not
touched at all. So I said to Radford :
TIL give you $4OO for it.
"tI,ll take it, yelled Radford How
will you pay for it?'
II had heard my father talkin' busi-
ness, so I said: You'll have to give me
six months time
"1'll do it, he said. AN you can give
me your note for it.
"He wrote out a note an signed it.
I went into the grocery and took pos
session. I was just a boy an in my
bare feet, but ] thought I ought to 60
inside and get behind the counter to
get possession, SO I went through the
broken glass, scrapin' my feet on the
floor.
cit wasn't long till everybody had
heard of the sale, an among the first
to come around was Linkern. Bill,
said he, you've made a good trude.
Come and eat breakfast with me, an
then we'll invoice the stock
"'Not much, said I; it's been in
voiced enough now
II thought, you know, that invoice
meant to smash it up like the Cleary
Grove boys had. But Linkern told me
what it meant, an so, during the day,
we invoiced it, an I found [ had about
$500 worth of groceries.
"When night come, an my grist was
ground, I had sold the grocery to Bill
Berry, the gambler. Berry took up
my note an gave me a fine pacin' horse,
with a fancy saddle an bride, fine
revolver, an over 5000 in silver dollars
an half-dollars.
II got home late that night. My
father an mother had gone to bed an
covered UP the fire in the fireplace. I
was cold and hungry. Somebody who
had passed our cabin had told my
father about my buyin' the grocery, an
he was mad. He thought it was a
foolish thing for me to do. So when 1
come in the cabin he said: You git
yourself off to bed, you young rascal.
L didn't answer him, but stirred up the
fire an put on some kindlin'.
I reckon you think you're mar
chant now,' said my father, very SER
castle.
"'Bout this time I dropped dollar
on the floor an my father heard it. He
stopped talkin' and I kept throwin'
money around on the floor an it rolled
under the bed an all round. My father
riz up in bed an looked at me. I kept
throwin' the silver round an pretty
soon my father says: I b'lieve I'll take
D chaw of terbacker.'
"He reached up on the wall an got
MS hunk of terbacker an took chew,
an I kept on THROWN the money out of
al myI pockets. Bout the time got
Ill the money throwed out on the floor
my father said to my mother: Ma, git
up an git this little feller sompin' to
eat
"That was my first trade, an 1 still
think it was the best one I ever made"
Then the old man talked of social
life of old Salem and of the games and
I asked him if old Salem
was ever visited by any travelling
;roupes, Of players. With sudden
smile of remembrance, he said:
remember very we'll the first cir
Jus that ever came to Central Illinois.
That was more than fifty years ago,
when I was a chunk of boy.
Il had been trying to spark girl
who lived near my fathers house-a
Miss Lucinda Lloyd. Her fathers
cabin was near ours. Lloyd an my
'ather war neighbors, you know, an
Lucinda was about my age,
IN I rather guess Lloyd an my father
lad figured we'd make a pretty good
match. So, with encouragement from
both sides, I had been goin' over to
Lloyd's tryin' to spark Miss Lucinda.
But, Lord! I was the timidest young
teller you ever see, an couldn't make
out to spark Miss Lucinda
1t all. Ireckon you don't know any
hing about sparkin' girls like we used
10 when was a boy. Now you have
parlor to sit in all alone with the girl
IN, &o1b %o har on, ,,1ou an &bo .,:.S.